This is a souvenir of the British Empire Exhibition of 1925. This exhibition, designed to showcase the industrial and natural resources of the countries in the British Empire was on a 216 acre site at Wembley, England. In 1923 the Wembley Stadium was completed and the F.A. Cup Final was held there. In 1924 the Exhibition was opened by King George V in a first ever radio broadcast by a British monarch. There were Palaces of Industry, Engineering, Horticulture and Art and Pavilions housing exhibits from most countries in the British Empire. 17 million people visited in 1923 and there were 11 million visitors in 1925 when the exhibiton was re-developed. Wembley Stadium was reconstructed in 2002. This item has no local provenance but is of some interest because of its connection to the British Empire Exhibition of 1925. It is a good example of the type of souvenir that was bought by visitors to the Exhibition. This is an enamelled metal container, circular (octagonal on the outside edges) in shape with a short handle. The central area is slightly recessed to take a small amount of rouge (a red powder compound for the face, usually the cheeks). A pad to apply the rouge to the face is missing. There is a metal hinged lid with a clip and a small ring at the end of the handle, possibly to contain a chain for it to hang around the neck. The wording on the front is black on a blue and green enamelled backgroundRaised image of a lion with the words underneath ‘British Empire Exhibition, 1925’rouge holder, british empire exhibition 1925

This item would have been used to apply rouge to the face to make the cheeks red. This rouge holder was made to fit into a purse or pocket for quick and easy application of the rouge. Variants of rouge or reddening materials are still used in cosmetics today. This item is of minor interest as an example of a cosmetics holder in use in the 20th century. It will be useful for display. This is a small brass container. It is rectangular in shape and has curved sides with ridged lines along the top and bottom edges. It opens via a small clip to reveal two compartments hinged in the middle. One compartment has an oval recess containing rouge powder and the other compartment has an inset mirror which is broken in two. A cloth pad for daubing the rouge on to the cheeks is also inside the container. ‘Velvet Grape’ cosmetics, history of warrnambool